Abstract:

Two types of recycled polyethylene non?woven fabrics were prepared by a flash evaporation method using two types of recycled polyethylene with different melt flow rates as raw materials and a mixture of difluorochloromethane and tetrafluorodichloroethane as solvents. Their morphology， thermal properties， mechanical properties， air permeability， and water resistance were investigated using a scanning electron microscope， a differential scanning calorimeter， an electron intensity meter， and a digital air permeability meter. The results indicated that the recycled polyethylene non?woven fabrics were both composed of ultra?fine fibers. They exhibited maximum tensile breaking strength of 233 N/5 cm， maximum elongation break of 77 %， good air permeability， high resistance to hydrostatic pressure， good printing and dyeing properties， and satisfactory barrier performance. With such good comprehensive properties， the recycled polyethylene non?woven fabrics reach the goal for achieving addition value in the recycled polyethylene. This matches the sustainable development target and shows a broad market prospect in near future.

Key words: recycled polyethylene non?woven fabric, flash?spinning, property